China Literature, a unit of Tencent Holdings and China’s largest e-book and online publishing website, boasts 9.6 million e-books from 6.4 million authors and they plan to grow bigger with the merger.

“We are the biggest owner of intellectual property (IP) in China, but that’s not the end of the story,” said vice-president Luo Li of China Literature. China Literature earns its income by charging readers for their services. Last year it generated an annual profit of 30.36 million yuan. However, Mr Luo Li stated that online readers would be charged lesser once the income from the IP business rose.

SingTel is one of Asia’s leading communication groups that has turned towards online entertainment and now is turning towards providing quality online literature. Chief executive officer of Singtel’s International Group Arthur Lang states: “Having recently introduced gaming, esports, mixed martial arts, we now look forward to bringing online literature to our customers, particularly millennials who enjoy user-generated content. Our collaboration with China Literature will further our efforts to drive user engagement and build communities with our digital apps and services. We hope to jointly grow online literature in the region and explore opportunities in a wide range of media formats and content delivery,”

The press release announcing the merger states: “The partnership will also cover areas such as support for original content, and nurturing of writers, translators and editors, to enhance the development of quality content in Southeast Asia. Both parties will explore content adaptation, production and promotional activities on Singtel’s video platforms.”